Welcome students and chaperones!
Outdoor School can be a magical experience where you get to spend time outside learning and building community with your classmates. Parents, teachers, and sometimes high school-age leaders stay in the cabins and help lead everyone through the program. If your school is signed up for an overnight program at Camp Gray, this page is for you!
Get Ready for Outdoor School
Days are packed full, from Field Study after breakfast to an Evening Program and Campfire after dinner. Students get hands-on experience with the science concepts of your choice, as well as the memories of exploring with their peers and their parents in the outdoors. Field Study lessons explore broad topics and Interest Group activities are shorter and designed to focus on a single topic. Peppered throughout the day, there is time for rest and relaxation in cabins, and free-play recreation time. Students will also contribute to the community’s needs by rotating through Kitchen Party (setting up and cleaning up meals) and Scrub Club (a quick tidy of the restrooms).
Program Resources
Ready to jump to the details? We’ve got you covered. Use the program resources listed below to learn more about what to expect, what you need to bring, and get excited for Outdoor School!
You Are Welcome Here
We believe everyone deserves the chance to be outdoors and learn new things in an inclusive way. OMSI Outdoors is committed working internally and with external partners make the changes needed to our site and program outdoor school is for everyone.
In keeping with this opening line of OMSI’s equity statement, OMSI Outdoors uses and supports inclusive pronouns. OMSI Outdoors staff will introduce themselves using their pronouns (they, she, he, etc.) and will invite all participants to do the same. OMSI’s goal is for every student to have an opportunity to be true to themselves.
Life at Outdoor School
Welcome to Camp
Welcome to Camp Gray! As you arrive, place your bags on the concrete squares under the porch, and then grab your lunch. After you’ve eaten and had a chance to stretch your legs, we’ll begin our program with staff introductions and a site tour!
Cabin life
This is what the inside of a cabin looks like. You will move in after the camp tour. One bed will be for the chaperone and the rest for classmates. Which bunk do you want? The beds are twin size, and the lower bunk is ADA accessible.
Cabin Bathrooms
The bathroom is a short walk under a covered porch from your cabin. There is one shower and one stall in every bathroom that is ADA-compliant. Everyone supports the cleanliness of the community space! When your cabin is scheduled for “scrub club,” you sweep the bathroom and wipe the counters.
Meal Time
Breakfast and dinner are buffets. You will serve yourself, mindful that you take the asked amount for your first portion. Everyone behind you also needs a first portion! If you are still hungry, the meal host will give directions on getting seconds. One spot at the table is for a chaperone; the rest are for your friends! Wheelchair users can eat at the end of the table, or we can remove a bench to create space.
Kitchen Party
After each meal, a group is assigned to run the “Kitchen Party.” Along with your chaperone and classmates, you’ll help wash and sort the dishes, sweep the floors and clean the tables. The OMSI staff plays music so there’s usually a bit of singing and dancing too!
Campfire
Each night before bed is a campfire. OMSI Staff hosts the first campfire. Your teachers and chaperones host the second camper fire. If it’s raining, you’ll sit inside for songs and skits. After the campfire, you will head to your cabin to prepare for bed. You’ll need a good night’s sleep for tomorrow!
Frequently Asked Questions
Camp Gray has cell service and Wi-Fi is available for the adults and OMSI staff. We encourage participants to forego internet and cellphone usage during programs and meals to support the learning environment.Â
Most of us use our phones to take photos, we know. However, a goal of the outdoor school experience is for each student to gain confidence and independence, connect with their peers, and enjoy our unique opportunities. That goal is more achievable without technological distractions.
Digital and film cameras are encouraged; we urge families only to send what they can replace.
Talk to your teachers about who can be the “official” photographers so that everyone else can enjoy the program it the moment.
The capacity of Camp Gray is 96 people. Depending on your group’s size, another group may also be onsite. The groups will primarily operate independently, sharing meal times, some restrooms, and occasional evening programs.
There should always be adult supervision when the students are in the cabins. Group leaders are responsible for finding chaperones for the cabins. Typically, chaperones are parents/guardians from the school’s community, but some schools choose faculty or high school students instead. Small group leader rooms are next to the bunk rooms for teachers, principals, and bus drivers if needed.
Absolutely! Working from information provided by outdoor school group leaders, we build menus to meet all food needs. Typically, we create variations on the main meal by cooking gluten-free pasta or vegetarian sausage to provide a similar meal for our vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free participants.
Our kitchen is not allergen-free, but we clean and sanitize all surfaces and kitchen equipment to avoid cross-contamination. We’re open to inquiries and problem-solving in advance. Parents can also send food to supplement meals and snacks if they would like. We have a refrigerator and microwave available in the dining hall, and participants will always have access to their food
Days are packed full, from Field Study after breakfast to an Evening Program and Campfire after dinner. Students get hands-on experience with the science concepts of your choice, as well as the memories of exploring with their peers and their parents in the outdoors. Field Study lessons explore broad topics and Interest Group activities are shorter and designed to focus on a single topic. Peppered throughout the day, there is time for rest and relaxation in cabins, and free-play recreation time. Students will also contribute to the community’s needs by rotating through Kitchen Party (setting up and cleaning up meals) and Scrub Club (a quick tidy of the restrooms).
Everyone will receive a free OMSI t-shirt on the final evening of their program. No camp store exists, so students don’t need to bring any money.
OMSI staff will go over emergency procedures with the groups on arrival day. Since the students are the school’s responsibility, one adult (usually the onsite group leader) is designated to be responsible for medications and all healthcare/emergency decisions. Groups must bring at least one vehicle with them for the duration of the program in case a participant needs transportation to a medical facility.
OMSI staff are trained in first aid and CPR and are available to help in an advisory capacity. Basic first aid supplies and an AED are stored in the infirmary. A land line is also available in case of emergency.
Camp Gray is located in the Oregon Coast’s earthquake and tsunami hazard zone. On arrival day, OMSI staff will lead a walk up to our local vertical evacuation point to practice evacuation and share how our community is preparing and building resilience for the next Cascadia Subduction event.